German woman, son found dead in Canary island cave

MADRID (AP) — The bodies of a German woman and her 10-year-old son were found Wednesday in a cave on the Canary island of Tenerife, and the boy's father has been arrested, Spain's Civil Guard said.

A search for the dead child and his mother began Tuesday after hikers saw a 5-year-old boy alone near the town of Adeje. Speaking through a translator, he said his father had taken the family to a cave and attacked them. Spain's private Europa Press news agency reported. The boy said he escaped after he saw large quantities of blood.

Police arrested the 43-year-old father, who also is German, in an apartment in downtown Adeje. He refused to say where the rest of his family was, Europa Press said.

The man had reportedly moved to the island on a permanent basis. The woman and their two sons had arrived on Monday to visit.

More than 100 emergency workers and police, aided by helicopters, participated in the search. The bodies of the mother and 10-year-old were located Wednesday afternoon in a cave between two ravines at the base of the Teide volcano, which towers over Tenerife island, the Civil Guard said.

A local court that specializes in crimes against women has taken charge of the case and sealed the investigation.

The volcanic Tenerife island in the Atlantic Ocean is a popular holiday destination.

Violence against women is a persistent problem in Spain, where more than 990 women have died at the hands of their partners or former partners since 2003, when official Spanish records on such slayings began.

Members of the Spanish Civil Guard work on a road leading to a cave at the base of the Teide volcano, where a mother and son were found in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, Wednesday, April 24, 2019. The bodies of a German woman and her 10-year-old son were found in a cave in the Canary island of Tenerife, on Wednesday said the Civil Guard, adding that the boy's father, who was also German, had been arrested. (AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)Members of the Spanish Civil Guard work on a road leading to a cave at the base of the Teide volcano, where a mother and son were found in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, Wednesday, April 24, 2019. The bodies of a German woman and her 10-year-old son were found in a cave in the Canary island of Tenerife, on Wednesday said the Civil Guard, adding that the boy's father, who was also German, had been arrested. (AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)Members of an emergency team stand on a road leading to a cave at the base of the Teide volcano, where a mother and son were found in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, Wednesday, April 24, 2019. The bodies of a German woman and her 10-year-old son were found in a cave in the Canary island of Tenerife, on Wednesday said the Civil Guard, adding that the boy's father, who was also German, had been arrested. (AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)Members of the Spanish Civil Guard patrol near a cave at the base of the Teide volcano, where a mother and son were found in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, Wednesday, April 24, 2019. The bodies of a German woman and her 10-year-old son were found in a cave in the Canary island of Tenerife, on Wednesday said the Civil Guard, adding that the boy's father, who was also German, had been arrested. (AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)Members of the Spanish Civil Guard block the road leading to a cave at the base of the Teide volcano, where a mother and son were found Wednesday in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain, Wednesday, April 24, 2019. The bodies of a German woman and her 10-year-old son were found in a cave in the Canary island of Tenerife, on Wednesday said the Civil Guard, adding that the boy's father, who was also German, had been arrested. (AP Photo/Andres Gutierrez)